The Fruit Of The Parberry Tree
by Dragonsbane1611
Summary: (SH-NLG) "There is so much we have to do. Come on, lets close down the store today and go tell everyone," Luna pleaded. "Okay, okay. Just let me get everything put away."


Note: This is part of a series of little bursts of Neville and Luna goodness (NLG), and all my NLG is backstory for the epic 'Supposed Happiness' by MoonCroww. If you want to fully understand the whole situation and future events … toddle over and check it out. Thanks. ~Lady Roxyeth, Dragonsbane  
  
The Fruit Of The Parberry Tree  
  
Wed.21.Jan.2004  
  
***  
  
  
  
"You lucky little bugger," the red-headed man exclaimed, punching Neville in the arm.  
  
"Hey, watch it," Neville said, wincing and rubbing the sore spot.  
  
"That's my man you're beating up, Ronald," Luna intoned, wagging a finger at her tall friend. "I won't have any of that."  
  
"You're trying to one-up me. Twins," Ron muttered, giving Neville a sly smile and ushering him into the living room.  
  
"Leave him be Ron," Hermione demanded, coming down the stairs and smiling at her guests. "I don't think the Weasley's need two sets of twins. Especially not from me. Could you imagine?"  
  
Ron seemed to think on this for a moment and fear flashed in his eyes. He shuddered and directed his pregnant wife to an easy chair, asking her if she was alright and if she needed anything.  
  
"For heaven's sake, Ron, I'm only ten weeks into it."  
  
Neville and Luna took their places on the couch, she, leaning against him with his arm around her shoulders.  
  
Hermione sneezed and Ron jumped.  
  
"Ah-ha, you're cold!"  
  
With that, he bounded up the stairs and out of sight. Hermione looked at Neville and Luna.  
  
"Help me," she whimpered.  
  
Ron returned carrying a fluffy blanket and Hermione watched, eyes wide, as he tucked it in around her.  
  
Luna laughed at this display of overprotection and Neville watched her with a small smile. Her laughter captivated him like nothing else he could remember. Ron was lighting the fire and going on about the house being too drafty for the weather they were getting this particular January, but Neville wasn't listening anymore. He had placed a hand on Luna's stomach and closed his eyes.  
  
He felt two soft hands cover his own and for moment, could see two sets of shining blue eyes and hear excited laughter. He gasped and his eyes fluttered open. Luna smiled a little and kissed his cheek.  
  
"What was that?" he asked her, trying to slow his breathing which had involuntarily sped up.  
  
She shrugged and her eyes twinkled.  
  
"Butterbeer, old man?" Ron asked, suddenly. Neville had to remove his hand to take the cold bottle, still trying to regain his composure. Luna declined the offer, however, taking sips from Neville's. Ron had just pulled a kitchen chair beside his wife's easy chair and opened two bottles for himself and Hermione.  
  
Pop!  
  
"Thanks, mate," Harry declared snatching Ron's bottle and plopping on the couch next to Luna. Neville felt the blonde in his arms tense up a little and he shook the invading thoughts out of his head, sitting up a little straighter and encircling his wife in his arms. She took a deep breath and leaned into him more, reaching up and fingering the diamond wedding ring she now wore on a chain around her neck to keep it from getting dirty while working in the shop. In place of it, she wore a simple gold band upon which Neville now focused.  
  
Ron made a face at Harry. Hermione handed her bottle to him, but he insisted they not share a drink.  
  
Pop!  
  
"It's not something you can catch, Ron!" Hermione shouted, tossing the blanket to the floor. "And I am not cold. It's sweltering in here with the fireplace blazing."  
  
"My thoughts exactly," Ginny agreed, fanning herself with her hand. Harry leaped to her side and grabbed her arms.  
  
"Look at how you're sweating! You're going to dehydrate yourself. Sit! Relax!" Harry ordered, pushing his wife down into his former place beside Luna. Neville gathered Luna closer, resting his head on her shoulder and she placed a kiss on his cheek, moving both of his hands once again to her belly. He half expected to see the eyes sparkling at him, but no vision came. They were just silently reminding one another of their place.  
  
Ron pointed an accusing finger at his best friend as Harry started for the kitchen.  
  
"You!"  
  
Harry stopped and furrowed his brow.  
  
"Me?"  
  
"You!" Ron repeated.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes and escaped to the kitchen, returning with a butterbeer for Ginny who mouthed her appreciation and looked back toward her husband and brother.  
  
"You!"  
  
"He's my husband, Ron. Leave him alone."  
  
"And you!"  
  
The red-headed male looked at his sister and then back to Harry.  
  
"Grow up," Hermione told her husband, hooking a finger in the belt-loop of his jeans and pulling him to the easy chair. Harry went to the kitchen and came back to Ginny with a glass of water. She stood and he sat in her place while she sat in his lap. Looking between the butterbeer in her left hand and the water in her right, she placed the water on the floor at the side of the couch and drank the yellowy ale.  
  
"But Harry's … he's … deflowered my sister!" Ron whispered urgently to his wife with a look of horror on his face.  
  
Ginny harrumphed and looked at Neville and Luna, who looked back, attempting amused smiles. Luna placed a hand on Neville's thigh and his forced smile almost became real.  
  
"Can you believe him?" Ginny asked quietly, motioning at her brother. "It's been four months and he's just now realizing that Harry and I are married."  
  
Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist and his face appeared under her arm, grinning at their sofa mates. Neville involuntarily reached for Luna's hand, locking their fingers together.  
  
"I knew you were married, thank you," Ron announced, holding up a hand. Hermione was whispering quickly in his ear, rubbing his back and holding his other hand.  
  
"Surely, you couldn't have honestly thought that you and Hermione were the only ones taking advantage of the marriage relationship," Harry snorted.  
  
"But you … you … you've spawned."  
  
"Ron!" Hermione gasped, slapping her husband's shoulder, and turning away from him.  
  
Luna laughed and Neville couldn't help but doing the same. The sound of her mirth relaxed him considerably and he slumped forward a little bit, still resting his chin on her shoulder.  
  
"We're not frogs," Harry said, pretending to be offended.  
  
Ron put his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees.  
  
"You, too, then?" Ginny inquired, noticing Neville's hand placement and nudging Luna in the arm a little.  
  
"Twins," Luna told her friend, a genuine smile gracing her features.  
  
"Oh, wow," the ginger-haired girl breathed. "I'm so excited for you. I can't wait!"  
  
"Good one, there, Neville," Harry said, punching the round-cheeked man in the arm right where Ron had gotten him earlier.  
  
"Hey!" Neville winced again.  
  
"Stop beating my husband! I won't stand for much more of this," Luna scolded, covering the sore spot on Neville's arm with one of her hands.  
  
"I don't see you accusing them of spawning," Harry pointed out.  
  
"Luna is far from being my baby sister," Ron said.  
  
Neville breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Thank God," in his wife's ear. She giggled a little and made to stand up.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked her as she pulled him up with her. He was grateful the former tension had passed and was forgetting it ever occurred.   
  
"Dance with me," she told him in her faraway timbre.  
  
Neville couldn't dance and every soul in the room was aware of it. Hermione coughed and nearly choked on her butterbeer (causing Ron to firmly pat her on the back and she pushed him away) when the notoriously clumsy man took his wife in his arms and began to sway gracefully. There was no music, but they didn't need it.  
  
Ginny smiled at this and jumped up. Harry reached for her as if she was going to fall and she batted him away. He stood next to her and she laced her arms around his neck, playing with his already unkempt hair as they began to move in time with Neville and Luna.  
  
Ron followed their lead, standing and bowing low, holding a hand out to his wife.  
  
"Lady Weasley, may I have this dance?"  
  
Hermione chose not to answer but allowed herself to be pulled up into his embrace and they, too, moved to and fro with the invisible melody.  
  
Luna was grinning broadly at her husband, who, seeing as he hadn't danced since Hogwarts, and had never ever danced without stepping on his partner's toes, was moving as though he had been doing it right for years. He didn't question this, however, because, since their union, he could do anything and everything he never could before. When he was with her, he had no faults, no shortcomings, and he loved feeling that way. Neville pulled her closer, his hands on her hips and leaned in to kiss her, wanting to take her home as quickly as he could get her there.  
  
"Let's go home," he whispered, his mouth next to her ear, making sure no one else could hear.  
  
She ran her teeth along his earlobe as he brought his head back and looked at her for an answer.  
  
"Not yet," she smiled, slipping her fingertips into the collar of his shirt along the back of his neck.  
  
He made a frustrated face at her and kissed her again anyway, figuring a kiss was better than nothing.  
  
"Get a room," Harry called out to them with a grin as he and Ginny danced passed them.  
  
"I'm trying," Neville said in exaggerated exasperation.  
  
"Ladies to the left," Ron declared, as all three men twirled their wives and they rotated. Once with Ron, Luna smiled at Neville as Harry spun Ginny into his open arms to make room for Hermione.  
  
If she hadn't smiled at him, Neville would have lost his confidence completely and reverted to his familiar clumsiness. His movements weren't as fluid, but he was keeping off her feet.  
  
"Twins, Neville? Really," Ginny clucked her tongue at her dance partner.  
  
Neville tutted and quirked an eyebrow at her.  
  
"You say that like I've done something wrong," he said to her, surprised he hadn't turned red when she clasped her hands on his neck and he had to find a place for his.  
  
"Honestly, it's not like they've … picked more parberries than any of us," Hermione cut in, trying to bite back a smile.  
  
"Certainly not us," Ron announced, proudly.  
  
"Ron!" his wife exclaimed, making a face at him.  
  
"We've been married longer!" he covered quickly, but he smirked at Harry, waggling his eyebrows.  
  
Luna grinned at her husband and he kissed the air, making eyes at her, reminding her, and, consequently, himself, of his expressed desire to leave.  
  
"What was that?" Ginny asked, laughing, looking over her shoulder at Luna who was giggling in Ron's arms.  
  
"Yeah, what's this?" the tall red-head inquired, grinning at the jovial blonde in his arms.  
  
"I deem she thinks you're putting up a front about your nocturnal performance," Neville lied, calling to his friend. "She and Hermione do talk quite a bit."  
  
"Is that so?" Ron made an offended face.  
  
"Switch!" Harry shouted and again the women were twirled to the partner on their left. Hermione smiled warmly at Neville, who smiled back as he took her in his arms, but kept glancing at Luna. For once she seemed unsure of what to do and she looked at him. He winked at her, biting his lip and the sparkle flashed in her eyes. There was no need for vocalization. Their eyes did all the talking. No matter who they danced with or with whom their affections rested, at the end of the day, they were each other's and they were happy.  
  
"Wouldn't parberries be dormant in the winter?" Ron asked, as he danced with his sister.  
  
Affecting her dreamiest vocals, Luna stated, "In the wild, yes, pinching parberries are generally harvested in the late summer and fall months, but recent studies have shown that some domestic crops thrive during the winter if raised in the proper conditions."  
  
Neville smiled at his wife's uncanny knowledge of things unknown.  
  
"In fact," she continued, "With the current high temperatures, this home would be perfect housing for a good yield."  
  
Harry snorted and rested his forehead on Luna's shoulder, suppressing laughter.  
  
Hermione blushed.  
  
Ginny guffawed and pressed her head against her brother's chest while he just smiled triumphantly.  
  
"May I remind all of you," Hermione began, "that I was pregnant in the fall?"  
  
"Who's talking about being pregnant, Mione?" Neville asked with a straight face. "We're talking about domestic parberry harvesting."  
  
She blushed again and Neville hugged her.  
  
"She's so cute when she blushes, Ron," he said.  
  
"And that's just her face," Ron added, smirking at his wife who buried her face in Neville's shirt to hide the crimson colour her cheeks and ears had acquired.  
  
"I hate you," came a muffled cry and Ron petted his wife's hair.  
  
"I love you, too, baby."  
  
Hermione attempted to scowl at him but the corners of her mouth were twitching.  
  
"I think I'm going to keep this one, Neville," Harry told him, and Neville turned quickly to look at him.  
  
"Excuse me?" He knew he was joking, but the words alone made his heart stop.  
  
"She's quite knowledgeable on parberries and things."  
  
Luna bit her lip, but was looking at Neville, not her dance partner, and this made Neville smile a little.  
  
"Anyhow, you just said Mione was cute. You can keep her."  
  
Hermione made a face at Harry.  
  
Ron looked at Ginny and thought aloud, "Well, this isn't fair."  
  
"Give me my wife," Neville demanded and all women were returned to their spouses. Now that Luna was safely in his arms again, he repeated, "Let's go home."  
  
"Let's."  
  
Ron was admiring his wife as they spoke in hushed voices. Harry had taken to growling inaudible nonsense into Ginny's neck while she giggled and ran her fingers through his black hair.  
  
They separated and were about to apparate when Hermione stopped them.  
  
"You can't apparate when you're pregnant," she scolded.  
  
"Why not?" Neville asked. "We apparated here."  
  
"We did as well," Harry put in.  
  
"Well, I can't do anything about that, but I won't have you apparating out of this house. The healer said it's dangerous later in the term, so you might as well get used to not doing it now."  
  
"Are we allowed to floo?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Of course you're allowed to floo!" she responded loudly, as if this was simple logic that they were all missing.  
  
"Then we shall floo like fools," Neville declared, directing his wife to the fireplace.  
  
"Not when there's a fire!" Hermione shrieked.  
  
The other five people looked at her with wide eyes.  
  
"Yes, we know," Neville assured her.  
  
"I wasn't going to let them roast, honey," Ron told his wife, flicking his wand and dousing the fire.  
  
Luna tugged on Neville's sleeve and he pushed her toward the hearth. She escaped quickly, calling 'Longbottom Flat' before she disappeared with a 'whoosh'.  
  
Neville looked to Harry and Ginny and remarked, "At least it's not 'Flat Longbottom'." He waved quickly before entering the floo and finding himself in his living room. Luna was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Luna?" he called, dusting some soot off his trousers.  
  
No reply.  
  
"Luna?"  
  
Neville made his way down the hallway and saw the door to their bedroom ajar. He pushed the door lightly with his forefinger and it swung wide. She was waiting for him, under the sheets. He leaned against the doorpost and bit his lip again.  
  
"I think it's time we got back to those parberries," his wife told him beckoning him toward her.  
  
He pretended to think for a moment as he wandered to her bedside and sat down.  
  
"Are you sure? I mean, you are pregnant and all. This could be a dangerous activity," he told her, putting on his best Harry and Ron imitation.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him before pulling him into a kiss.  
  
"I'm the tease in this marriage; not you."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
©2004 – Roxanne L. Martin, Writings From Behind The Red Door 


End file.
